eelpie

I'm beginning to like Claude's team of diamonds

Revenge! Revenge!

Who is Thierry Henry?

This is exactly what Palarse fans have been worried about

Honourable's are heroes in this case.

That's a good tactic. He'll shoot between them both

They do have a potent strike force now, so too many changes to the side that one on Sunday may not be wise.

For goodness sake. And punters pay their exorbitant fees?

It always happens, top strikers suddenly miss everything. Often there are mitigating circumstances, like fatigue following a hectic summer tournament with little rest, and I feel this has happened to Long, or losing confidence from being played in an unfamiliar position. Obviously every situation is different, but what are your favourite training techniques to get back that scoring touch? Or is there nothing that can be done and it's just a matter of time?

Surely, and this will come. Let's not forget that it is not so long ago that he has been recovering from a serious injury. Like JayRod, his playing time back to full fitness has to be managed. Meanwhile, only you seem to be unhappy with his goals to minute ratio.

That is an interesting observation.

lol, I'd like to see your checklist of a footballer's necessary attributes. Actually, no I wouldn't.

What more does Charlie have to do to be recognised as a striker? Score two every match?

Had we loaned him out it is possible that his return to fitness might have been rushed by his new club which could have set him back. Thank goodness we didn't pursue this daft idea.

Has he left yet? Apparently not

That's a bit rich. You no nothing about rail travel in 2016. And not everyone has cars.

This

Fantastic- how we all needed that! Well done Saints. Brilliant Charlie, Martina and JayRod, the three players whose future at Saints has been uncertain. Puel praises the strength of the squad which is deserved, but why did he want to sell Cuco and send Jay out on loan?

But didn't they say that the tannoy system was going to be improved? Did we not make enough profit on player sales this year?

Not quite what you asked for, but the commentating that I enjoyed most was : 'For those with black and white television (Arsenal) are in the red and (Chelsea) are in blue' (can't remember who the teams were, but it was a classic 1960's ColemanBalls in Private Eye

We've had lots of late signings in the past, but when will Boufal be fit enough to start playing?

It's been good to have a couple of Saturday 3pm starts, but over the whole season Saturday afternoon games don't happen enough for me. Traditional regular Saturday family gatherings at St Mary's are what I miss most. Price hikes have not helped here either.

I did not mention Boufal because his was a very late signing, he is not match fit, gets injured a lot, and he will be away in African Cup games for a while, so although I have high hopes of him, this is a speculative part time addition to the team , so far.

This last bit says a lot. The top seven clubs buying their success has taken a lot of 'level playing field' competitiveness out of the Premier League. And also because the media are really only interested in these teams. Plus also, that referees are now so obviously influenced in favour of these clubs, as seen through so many decisions.

On one hand I feel that the ridiculous money thrown into the Prem is corrupting and destroying our beautiful game. And why, since billions are changing hands, why can't the FA provide competent referees to officiate games? Or at least utilise technologies to referee contentious decisions. Here, I can understand why our Board are trying to disengage from being sucked into paying silly money for the highly skilled players that we really need in order to maintain the quality of our squad, if we are going to be able to compete with the best. Also, I am still not convinced that the Board thought through the consequences of selling top players before replacing them with like for like or better. We were - then - in a very good bargaining position and we could have done better. Now in our current, hopefully temporary, lower status it is going to be harder to persuade the top players to come here, and also to keep our stars. I still feel this, especially as i can't shake off the feeling that going for Puel and his different style of play really was intended as a money-saving option and that hasn't come off - yet. Then too, I am proud of the way that Saints played at Arsenal, and do see some hope. If only we had prioritised purchasing a proper replacement for Mane before he left. So did I feel that the club has let the club and fans down a little? Yes. I want the Board to demonstrate more ambition, because like all fans everywhere I want to see my club progressing.